Coping with the Past
by Firebolt Lord of Fire
Summary: After a nightmare Firebolt decides to visit his younger brother but hits on unforeseen problems... Please review.
1. Nightmare

**Coping with the Past**

**By Firebolt**

**Chapter 1: Nightmare**

_It was late in the night as the little colt was rudely awakened by a loud and bloodcurdling scream. He found himself in the middle of his burning room; not realizing that he didn't felt the heat, he got the jitters of being burned alive. He heard the screaming voice again but through the noisiness of the flames he couldn't identify the owner of the voice for sure. He located the source of the screaming inside the castle. The colt jumped out of the burning bed and left the room through the scorched door._

_"Aaaarghh!" he heard the voice screaming and now he was sure that it was his mother's voice. He rushed towards his parents' room but half way some burning wooden beams cracked down and blocked his way. He slipped through the wreckage, fearing to get burns. But instead of getting burns, a small piece of wood pierced his coat which caused him a small bleeding wound._

_He reached the door and tried to open it but before he touched the doorknob, he saw that it was slightly red glowing and stopped. He stepped backwards until his bottom touched the wall. After gathering all of his bravery he dashed at the door and burst through it. Inside the room he spotted the shape of a pony lying on the bed. "Father!" he called but the pony didn't move. Brave he ran through the flames but as he arrived, he found only the scorched corpse of his father. _

_"Bolt!" he heard his mother calling from the other side of the room. "Save – Thunderwing!" He looked around and saw her but before he could do anything, the mare perished in the flames. He was only able to reach her burned corpse._

_Realizing that his brother is the last remaining pony of his family, the young Firebolt dashed outside and along the hallway towards the tower where his younger brother had his room. He reached the stairs and ran upwards out of the firestorm. _

_For fear of the fire his brother had locked his door which stopped Firebolt for a bit. Loudly he knocked at the door and screamed. "Thunderwing! – Open the door!" But there was no reaction, so he screamed again and suddenly he heard the clattering noise of somepony unlocking the door. Fitfully he opened the door and smashed it right into the little blue colt's face, which knocked him out. "Fuck!_

_He ran to the bed, grabbed the blanket and chased towards his brother's bathroom. After soaking the blanket with water he ran to his brother and swathed him into the wet piece of cloth. As he protected him against the flames, he lifted the body upon his back and ran out of the room. But during the colt prepared his brother, the fire had reached the room, so he had to go through the flames. "Hold on!" he shouted and dashed down the stairs. Before he arrived at the bottom some stones fell down from the ceiling which he had to dodge. At the first-floor he had to notice that the shortest way outside was blocked. While running back to the second floor he looked back and saw that the blanket was nearly dry. "I'm running out of time!" He said to himself to encourage himself. He ran past his parents' room and remembered that this way was also blocked. His last chance to save his brother was the room of the Captain next to his parents'. He crashed through the door and found a nearly unaffected room. He looked out of the window and found fortunately he found a big heap of straw under it. Firebolt grabbed his brother's enveloped body and threw him out of the window right into the straw. _

_A last time he returned into his own room and went towards his bathroom and got the book of spells out of the mirror cabinet. He searched for a spell to revive his family but the only spell he could find, before the book was completely burned, was a teleportation spell. He shed a last tear for them and finally used the spell to get out of this firestorm._

_As he had materialized beside his brother, he realized that his mane was burning but bizarrely he felt no pain at all. He ran towards the well and lifted up a bucket of water. He stuck his head as deep as he could inside but instead of extinguishing the flame, the water simply vaporized._

_A few moments later the Captain of the guard, a dark grey earth pony, arrived. Even he tried to extinguish the little colt but he failed and finally he affirmed. "You set the castle on fire!" he raised his voice. "You killed your parents!"_

_The colt began to cry and the captain beat him which caused the colt to run away frightened._

_"Better don't come back you bastard!" He heard him calling._

Firebolt tossed and turned in bed which caused Shadow Hunter to wake up. Worrying she watched the stallion who began to shiver as if he's freezing. She attempted to sooth him but even as she lay upon him, he didn't stop his strange behavior. With all power her body contained she tried to fixate on him but his body was bathed in cold sweat and she slipped off. A few moments she had a look at his face and saw his closed but runny eyes. She got scared as the stallion started to groan within his dream; at least she thought that he was dreaming.

Frantically she tried to wake him up, but every attempt was doomed. "Hey, wake up!" She called punching him, but the only reaction she got was that his mane inflamed itself and ignited the bed. Screaming she jumped out of the bed and tried to lift the stallion's body out of the bed.

Shadow left Firebolt a few moments unattended to get a fire extinguisher and extinguish the burning bed. As she returned to him she got scared to death as she saw that the body wasn't moving anymore. She knelt down and saw several bloody paths, starting from his eyes towards his mouth. Frightened she opened his eyes but there was no sign of a wound. "Wake up!" she cried pounding at his chest.

The next morning Firebolt woke up, but something was wrong. He was sure that he went to his own bed the last evening but now he found himself at the medical station. He looked around and saw a light blue mare lying on the ground beside his bed. Slowly he stood up and left the bed at the opposite side to sneak towards the sleeping mare. As he arrived he knelt down and whispered in her ear. "Hey my dear, wake up."

Shadow opened her eyes slowly and saw Firebolts smiling face in front of her. Angry she cuffed him and shouted. "You idiot scared me to death!" worryingly she added. "What happened with you last night?"

The stallion looked questioning at her while he rubbed his aching cheek. "I was just asking you the same."

"You don't know?" she asked worried. "You scared me the hell out of me with your strange behavior. You must have had a really bad nightmare."

"I could really remember a nightmare but after that I can remember nothing." He answered lost in thought.

"I really can't describe it but you looked like you were dying." She explained and added sarcastically "And you burned our bed, you hero."

"If it was only the bed and not something else." The stallion smiled. After a short moment of silence he spoke again. "I'll be away for a few days."

"You're not going anywhere until I know what happened to you." The mare replied worried.

"I'm ok." Firebolt answered. "I just dreamed about that day when my parents died."

"I won't let you go until the doctors had a look on you." Shadow said hortative and left the room.

Firebolt looked confused around and thought about what happened moments ago. He went to the door to left the room but the door was locked. "Ohh – Shadow!" he mumbled and stepped back towards the bed as his body burst into flames and left a track of ash behind.

Later Shadow returned with two doctors in tow but as she entered the room she found nothing else than a small track of ash. "Shut down the base!" she hissed. "And search for him."

A few hours later Night Hawk came into Firebolts room and reported the mare that it seems that Firebolt had left the base. "I know." She said holding a letter in her hoof. "He's on his way to Nordheim."

"I'm sure he knows what he is doing." He said in a calming voice. "You don't need to worry about him."


	2. Unwelcomed Visitor

**Chapter 2: Unwelcomed Visitor**

After Firebolt had teleported himself into his room to pack some things for his journey in his saddlebag, he teleported outside the base and took off towards Nordheim. He flew about half a day as he reached the border of the snow-covered kingdom in the north.

In the nightfall one of Nordheims guards saw a quivering light flying towards the city. He wondered what it could be but as it got nearer he thought that he saw a pony inside the light. After a few moments of watching it he was sure that the light is a pony. He turned around to show it to his messmate but the light has gone. "You're hallucinating." The other pony said slapping solacing on his shoulder.

"I'm sure that I saw something." The guard responded.

"But there is noth-" The other guard started but the landing of a golden alicorn stallion with a short ash-grey mane and tail, in front of them, cut him off. Astonished the two guards retreated a few steps. "Told you!" the first guard said to the other one, ignoring the stallion in front of them.

"Maybe you're right but –"

"Hm Hm." Firebolt made his presence felt and the two guards looked incredulously at him. "You can argue later."

"And you Sir, could wait until we're finished." The second guard replied impertinently and turned towards his comrade.

Slowly he began to heat the ground under the sassy guard until the stallion jumped up and looked confused at the ground. While the guard wondered why the earth beneath his hooves was hot, Firebolt had to use all of his power to refrain from laughing. "You!" the guard hissed and pointed with the spear at Firebolt. "I'll get you for that."

The guard was on the point of attacking as the stallion inflamed his mane which caused the two guards to fall back a bit. "It seems that you have no idea who I am." He said looking deep into their eyes.

"Y-You can't be –" One of them began but stopped as he realized that the pony in front of him was really the pony he thought. "But – the captain said, you were killed by a wolf."

"It seems that your captain has told you lies about me." The alicorn said. "Actually I came to visit my brother but maybe I should talk to the captain."

"Follow me, My Lord!" The first guard said bending down his head while the other one opened the large wooden city gate.

Firebolt had chosen one of the side entrances to the city for his visit that's why the two ponies walked through a small and dark street towards the castle. "Why are you visiting your brother?" the guard asked curious.

"I want to talk to him about the past." The stallion answered. The guard looked nervously around and whispered in his ear. "You can trust only a few guards, so watch out when you're inside the castle."

The stallion looked at the other pony with a questioning expression on his face. "How do you mean -" He broke the silence but before he could finish he got cut off by a heavy blow into the back of his head. The stallion stumbled but before he could identify his attacker he lost his consciousness.

As Firebolt awoke he found himself standing on his hind-legs with his back to a wall. All his four legs were shackled to the wall and a bag was put over his head. He tried to shake it off but even burning it hadn't worked. There was nothing he could do but listening at his surroundings. After eavesdropping awhile he suddenly heard a door opening and a pony stepping into the room. The stallion raised his head and pointed towards where he thought the pony was.

"So, so, you're the incredible Firebolt." The mysterious pony said scornfully in a mare's voice.

"…"

"It seems that you're not very communicative." The mare said after a while and punched in the shackled pony's stomach which caused it to groan.

Firebolt tried again to shake off the bag over his head but he failed once more.

The pony saw his attempt and pulled the bag coarsely down. Now he was able to see his opponent, a dark grey unicorn mare with a black mane and tail. The mare was covered in one of the royal guard's armor but something about this armor was strange. Normally the emblem of the king graced the armor but instead of his brother's thunderbolt, a hammer graced the armor.

"What are you going to do in Nordheim?" she asked preparing for another punch.

"…"

The mare punched him again but instead of hitting his body, her hoof got stopped midair. She looked at her hoof and then to the shackled stallion. She looked right into the smirking face of Firebolt.

"What do you want in Nordheim?" The unicorn asked again.

"Who are you?" He broke his complete silence. "And why are you keeping me imprisoned?"

"I am the pony who is questioning!" She yelled and punched him right into the face. The anger inside Firebolt grew and his eyes began to burn. "Stop it!" He called warningly. "You don't know what you're awakening!"

The mare backed off frightened, she hadn't expected a reaction like that. After a few moments of silence she said. "Tell me what I want to know."

"No way!" The stallion answered with a demonic tone in his voice and the flame of his mane grew. "Run for your lives!" he added warningly.

"I'm not going to take that!" the unicorn answered. "The only thing you have to do is telling me what I want to know."

"Run you fools!" Firebolt yelled but as an answer he obtained a punch in his stomach. The flames spread over his whole body like as flash and the shackles began to melt. The two guards outside the room looked through the door and fled in panic.

"I don't fear you!" she called retreating.

"That sounds like a good fight." He smirked with his demonic voice as the shackles molt completely. Looking deep into her eyes he stepped towards the unicorn which was paralyzed in fear. She felt the heat of the flames as the stallion got closer. Finally she picked up courage and retreated towards the door but before she could reach it the stallion closed it with his magic. The mare continued retreating even if there's no other way out of the dungeon. Soon she bumped with her hind-legs against the door.

Suddenly she charged at Firebolt but before she crashed into him, she flung down and slid behind the stallion. The enormous heat inside the room caused her to sweat and even the wooden door began to burn. "Only a few more minutes." She told herself. "Then I'll be able to fall back."

To top it all Firebolt began to spit fire at her. She had to endeavor to eschew the flames but sometimes she was too slow and the flames burned her hooves. Whenever she thought that she had a few seconds to rest she pulled, with her magic, one of the bricks out of the wall and threw it at the stallion. Some of the bricks seem to hit their target but before they touched him, they melt. She even tried to trick him, which was crowned with success. She stood in front of the door as Firebolt spat fire at her, she dodged the beam and it hit the door instead. The door wasn't fully destroyed but she had to leave the room immediately if she didn't want to be broiled. With her last hope she dashed to the door and crashed through it.

She ran as fast as she could to the end of the corridor and blocked the door behind her. Knowing that she gained a bit time she decide to take a deep breath.

Meanwhile on the other side of the door, Firebolt stepped slowly along the corridor which caused the doors he passed to burn. As he reached the door he formed with his fore-hooves a fireball and threw it at the door.

The mare shrieked as she heard the loud impact but it was only after the second bounce as she continued her escape towards the inner yard.

The third fireball smashed the door and Firebolt stepped through the wrecked door. "Where are you?" he smirked in a demonic tone. Suddenly he heard steps at the end of the hallway and dashed towards the source. As he turned the corner he saw the mare trying to open a door. The unicorn looked from sheer fear back and saw the stallion forming another fireball. She rattled at the door but it was still locked. She looked again back and saw barely a fireball flying towards her. The balls hit the mare and smashed her through the barred door.

Firebolt left the dungeon through the smashed door and entered an inner yard of the castle. He still eyed the mare, which was lying blandly on the other side of the yard. As he finally reached the body, he clutched her throat and lifted the body up. Realizing that she wouldn't answer any of his questions he tossed the lifeless unicorn into the next wall.

It was a long time ago since he saw the castle, so he had to remember the way to the main gate. After a few moments of being deep in thought he headed towards a small door at the west side of the yard.


	3. To the King

**Chapter 3: To the King**

Firebolt entered the building which seemed to be the dining hall of the guards. Fortunately there was only one pony inside the whole building. As the pony saw the burning stallion it shrieked and ran towards the exit. Firebolt threw a fireball at the fleeing pony but missed. A few moments after he lost sight of the pony he heard the alarm bells tolling. With a big smile on his face he stepped to the door at the other side of the hall and went outside.

The place where he found himself after leaving the building was somehow familiar to him. It was the big central courtyard in front of the castle. He looked around and saw a huge amount of guards at the top of the walls as well as in front of the main gate. Five of the guards stand right in front of him and tried to force him back with their spears. He raised his head towards the sun and spat fire which caused some of the guards to flee. The five brave guards stood still in front of him, pointing with their weapons at him. He took a step forward and one of the guards tried to ram his spear at the stallion but before the spearhead touched the skin, it melted and the wood began to burn.

The guard looked frightened at the remaining part of his weapon and smashed it to the ground before he drew his sword. Firebolts horn glowed and the flames in front of him formed a sword and turned blue. He grabbed the hilt and the guards prepared for battle. With only one cut he cut the remaining spears which caused the front ends of the spears to fall down onto the ground. They threw the remains of their weapons at the stallion and drew their sword. Firebolt faced the guards and after a few moments of dead silence he attacked. The blade swished down and in the very last moment the guard yanked his sword up. The blazing blade hit the sword with a shower of sparks.

The guard looked at his sword and saw a large notch at the blade but the attack had done more damage than this; the heat of Firebolts sword scorched the guard's mane and melted the emblems on its helmet. Awestruck the guard lowered its sword and retreated a few step, still facing the demonic stallion. He dropped the sword, bowed slightly and ran off of the courtyard.

One of the other four guards gazed after his comrade but as Firebolt spot the distracted pony, he sent it over the whole yard by punching him into the chest. While the remaining guards fell back, he jumped into the air and shot down to the center of the courtyard. The impact sent off a burning shock wave which spread all over the yard. Several ponies got caught by the wave and were smashed into the walls. Some other ponies, especially the pegasi under the guards which were fast enough to escape the firestorm, landed and surrounded the stallion.

On the top of a tower a white unicorn stallion appeared and yelled. "Stop him! He's not allowed to enter the castle." Firebolt looked closer at the stallion. The white unicorn had a light blonde mane and his body was covered in a decorated armor which shows that he was a Sergeant of the guard. He called some of the guards to left the yard but there were still enough guards left. "Kill him!" the Sergeant yelled before he disappeared into the tower.

The remaining guards stepped closer to the demonically looking stallion. Firebolt roared and swung his sword which decapitated a distracted mare. Emitting sparks the blade cut a way through the guards. Finally he stood there with only six enemies left. As one of the ponies dashed at him, he threw the blade and cut the body lengthways. The smell of burned flesh filled the air which caused one of the guards to puke. Firebolt threw a fireball at the spewing pony but one of its comrades jumped in front of him and the fireball hit the other pony instead. Both the pony and the fireball crashed into the, probably saved, pony which knocked the two of them out. "Three left." The golden stallion smirked silently and feinted another attack which prompted the last three guards to flee. "Come back you cowards!" he called after them.

After the battle he saw that the Sergeant trotting towards him followed by ten guards. In a safe distance he bowed down and said in a sincere tone. "I'm sorry, My Lord, but I had to get rid of these disloyal guards."

Remembering the words of the first guard he met Firebolt looked at the unicorn. "Who are you?" he answered finally in his demonic voice.

"I'm Sergeant Shining Heart, My Lord, the leader of the resistance movement and I'll be at your command."

Stepping towards the bowing stallion he locked his anger up and the flames around him went out. "Stand up!" he said in his normal voice. "And tell me what happened in the last few years."

"As you wish, My Lord. –" the unicorn started but the stallion cut him off. "One more thing," the stallion began. "please, stop calling me My Lord."

"As you wish, My L-" He answered and paused as he noticed his failure. "I'm sorry." He excused but the only thing his opponent did, was smiling.

"Well, after you ran away, the captain submitted that he chased after you but found only your corpse. Your brother didn't believe this story, as well as we, so he wanted to talk to you before he succeeded the throne. Consequently the Captain imprisoned your brother and crowned himself." Shining Heart told genuinely. "That's all what happened. And since then we tried to find and bring you to your brother."

"Where's my brother?"

"I think he's in the southern tower." The unicorn answered.

"Well gather your partisans, we're going to overthrew the false king." Firebolt ordered. "I'm going to answer your hopes."

"I've informed my troops inside the castle, so that they won't attack you; please, reprieve them."

"Roger that!" the stallion answered galloping towards the main gate of the castle.

He entered the entrance hall, a huge decorated hall with a large staircase to the upper floors, and looked around. About a dozen guards were inside the room; some of them bowing but the other ones drew their swords and stepped towards him.

"Stop them!" he ordered and the loyal guards dashed at the others. Amused he watched the spectacle but after a few minutes he got bored and trotted towards the stairs.

One of the disloyal guards killed his enemy and dashed at the stallion but before he could arrive, his hooves got stuck in the floor. He looked down and saw that his hooves were enclosed by the molten floor. Firebolt stepped to the trapped pony and disarmed it. He raised the guard's sword and said after a few moments of an awful silence. "I spare your life but only if you'll serve the true king."

"S-Scout's honor." The pony whined and Firebolt rammed the sword into the floor. He turned around and went upstairs. On the top of the stairs he looked back and saw the loyal guards surrounding the trapped pony. "Don't kill him!" He yelled exhorting. "I spared his life." The guards stowed away their weapons and tried to help the pony.

Meanwhile at the yard in front of the dungeon, the mare opened her eyes slowly and found herself at the bottom of a wall. She could barely breathe, so she touched her throat which caused her to give a wince of pain. Half in trance she looked at her hoof which was cluttered with weeping burns. Even the rest of her body was cluttered with burns but the worst wound was the third degree burn at her throat. Groaning she lifted her hurting body up and hobbled slowly and swaying towards the dining hall. The mare had to take several breaks until she reached the door. After crossing the hall she entered the central courtyard. It was a horrible scene, about four dozen bodies scattered there; she even smelled burned flesh. Slowly and with the lowered head she limped towards the center where she spotted the source of the smell. She came closer and had to throw up as she realized that the lengthwise sliced pony was a white unicorn. As she reached the corpse she knelt down to the stallion and cried while she lost her awareness.


	4. The False King

**Chapter 4: The False King**

Firebolt reached the door to the throne room and opened it. The huge hall was decorated with red banners which carried the sign of the black hammer, he saw before at the guards' armors. Even the pillars which bore the ceiling were painted red. At the end of the hall a pony stood upon the pedestal where the two thrones were.

"Long time no see!" the pony called scornfully.

Firebolt stepped closer to the pony but as he reached the center of the hall several guards teleported into the room and surrounded him. "Still the same coward as back then." He smirked and one of the guards attacked him with a sword. The stallion could dodge the weapon but another guard cut into his flank. "Stop it!" he shouted as his eyes began to burn. "I don't want to kill you, too."

The guards began to laugh and attacked again. Only one more attack was missing to inflame his anger. One of the guards behind the golden stallion prepared for attack as Firebolt's hoof hit his face and knocked him out. But one of the remaining guards sealed their fate as he threw his spear at the stallion. The spear missed Firebolt but it was enough to release his anger. The guards stepped back as the stallion burst into flames and formed a blade out of the fire. He took the hilt and threw the sword at one of the guards which was, because of his fear, unable to move. The blade got stuck at the pony's head and began to burn the corpse which filled the air with the smell of burned flesh. Before the body touched the floor Firebolt grabbed the hilt and hurled the corpse into the next wall. "Come on, don't be so lame!" he roared in his demonic voice which caused two of the guards to shit their pants and to flee.

He swung the sword after the last guard, a blue earth pony stallion, but the pony could dodge the attack. The guard took a glimpse and saw that the armor on his right flank was melted. Firebolt threw the sword again but the pony dodged again and the hit a pillar instead. The guard chased to the blade and grabbed the hilt but pulled its hoof back which was covered by a large third degree burn. The pony looked back to Firebolt and saw a fireball flying at him. He tried to jump but it was too late; the fireball hit his chest and smashed him into the wall.

Firebolt quit his enraged form and stepped towards the stallion which lay at the bottom of the wall. "You fought well." He said. "Go and tell your comrades that I spared your life." The pony stood up and answered stertorously. "Thanks, My Lord." Swaying he left the hall and Firebolt turned back to the pony by the thrones. "We trusted you!"

"Now you know that your parents made a mistake." The elderly dark grey earth pony answered. "And your mistake was to come here."

Firebolt took a closer look at the stallion and recognized that he was covered with a golden armor. He remembered that the armor of the Captain was made out of a special material which made it much more resistant. "You've made a big mistake, Hammerhoof." He said finally and his opponent grabbed a large war hammer.

"Time to die!" Hammerhoof roared as he chased at Firebolt.

The earth pony swung its hammer and hit the stallions flank which broke one or two of his ribs. Groaning Firebolt dashed at his enemy but Hammerhoof parried the attack by catapulting the stallion at the wall on the other side of the hall. During the time in air Firebolts eyes began to glow and his body burst into flames. He smashed through a pillar and afterwards into the wall. He picked some of the rubble up and melted them into a ball of lava. He threw the ball which hit the pillar in front of Hammerhoof and the lava splattered at the wall behind the pony. Slowly the golden stallion stepped towards his target, leaving molten hoof prints behind.

"Is that all you can do?" Hammerhoof smirked laughing behind the pillar.

Firebolt increased his speed until he smashed into the column. The attack surprised the earth pony and smashed it into the wall. As Firebolt stepped towards the stallion, he tried to hit Firebolt's face with his hammer but the hammerhead melted before he reached his target. The stallion grabbed the pony's throat and lifted it up.

"Arrrghh…" Hammerhoof screamed in pain as the flame burned his bare skin.

"Where's my brother!" The burning stallion asked demonically.

"…" Hammerhoof gasped for air and Firebolt threw the body towards the thrones. The impact battered his armor and a sharp splinter of the floor scratched his throat which caused a bleeding wound. He lifted his body up and galloped with his last power to the side exit. Before he arrived at the door, a fireball smashed it. He climbed through the remains of the door and ran along the corridor leaving a trail of blood behind.

Firebolt teleported into the hallway and followed the blood trail. Slowly he stepped through the corridor and burned every banner and painting at the wall. As he turned the corner he saw the earth pony reaching another corridor, so he threw a fireball at him.

Hammerhoof was short before another corridor as he watched back and saw a fireball flying towards him. He ducked down and the flame flew over his head and hit the wall and set the corridor on fire. As he reached the corridor he had only one way to flee, upstairs. He ran as fast as he could which caused his wound to bleed more and more.

The golden stallion reached the stairs and yelled. "There's no way out for you!"

Slowly he followed the other stallion.

At the end of the stairs Hammerhoof unlocked a wooden door, went through it and locked it again. Out of breath he collapsed and leaned against the door.

Soon Firebolt arrived at the door but he didn't saw the pony. He looked around and saw the trail of blood going through the door. The stallion formed a fireball and smashed the door.

Hammerhoof had felt the heat on the other side of the door before he got catapulted onto the balcony.

"Gotcha!" The stallion said mocking as he found the armored pony. Stepping towards the wounded pony he asked. "Any last words?"

The earth pony stallion lifted his body up and yelled finally. "Fuck you!"

"Quite uncalled-for your last words." Firebolt said forming a last fireball.

Hammerhoof charged a last time at his enemy but as the fireball hit his chest, he got catapulted out of the room at the top of a tower. He hated his whole life the idea of flying, now he knew why. It was because he couldn't fly. He turned around to the place he came from to see the burning stallion stepping onto the balcony. "Daaammn yoouu!" were the last words he screamed before he smashed into the ground.

Shining Heart was on the way back to the castle as he heard a pony calling. "Fire! The castle's on fire!" He looked up and saw flames at the top of the southern tower. "Let's go!" he yelled to his militants and galloped to the castle.

As they arrived at the central courtyard they found the massacre Firebolt had left. Some of the ponies had to throw up, others turned around and left the castle but most of the militants surrounded a crater in the middle of the yard. The sergeant pushed his way through the crowd and after he reached the edge he looked at the corpse at the bottom. It was the smashed body of a dark grey earth pony; only through the armor the pony wore he could identified the pony as Hammerhoof. He took off his helmet and commemorated his old Captain. "God rest his soul!" he prayed looking to the sky.

He stepped through the crowd towards the main gate to meet Firebolt. On his way he spotted a new body where Firebolt slaughtered the disloyal guards but in the shadow of the night he couldn't see who it was. He stepped closer to the body and froze in shock as he saw a dark grey unicorn mare with a black mane. Slowly and incredulously he stepped towards the mare. A tear ran down his cheek as he saw her cutie mark, a targe and a sword. In panic he rushed to her and knelt down. Her whole body was cluttered with weeping burns, like she had only just escaped a firestorm. While he grabbed her hoof he felt her pulse. "Wake up!" he called but she didn't move. Crying he slumped down.


	5. Reunion

**Chapter 5: Reunion**

"Bolt?" he heard a familiar voice asking. "Is that you?"

The stallion turned around and stepped back into the room.

"Is that really you?" he heard the voice again and spotted the source, a dark blue alicorn stallion with a black mane and tail. He leaned against the desk next to the balcony and answered smiling, but still in his demonic voice, which frightened the other stallion a bit. "It's a long time ago since we met the last time." Shortly before he crashed through the scorched desk, he smelled the scent of burning wood.

As the blue stallion saw his brother buzzing off he had to laugh loudly. "You know that wood isn't fireproof, don't you?"

After this incident Firebolt realized that he was still burning. He extinguished the flames and answered laughing. "Sorry, I forget about that."

The blue stallion jumped out of the bed and gave his brother a leg-up. "Seriously, what are you doing here?" he asked

"I had a terrible nightmare about our parent's death. I want to tell you the truth about their death." Firebolt answered, his tone nothing but sincere.

"That's all?!" His opponent asked angry. "After hundreds of letters I wrote you, you come to talk about your nightmare?"

"What letters?" he tried to ask but his brother had wrathfully left the room. "Thunderwing, wait!" he called after him.

Slowly he stepped towards the destroyed desk and found a letter. He picked it up and began to read:

_Dear Bolt,_

_I'm still waiting at your answer to my other letters but maybe they never reached you. _

_Before I'll succeed to the throne, I want to get your agreement. _

_A few days ago one of the resistance fighters found out what happened really at the day as our parents died …._

The rest of the letter was burned. He put the piece of paper back and went back to the throne room. The stallion went through the gutted corridors and finally reached the smashed door. As he climbed through the door he heard somepony sobbing. He didn't spot the source of the noise but instead he spotted his sword sticking in a pillar and melting the stone around the blade. Slowly he stepped towards it, still watching out for the sobbing pony. As he reached the demonic weapon, he still hadn't found the pony. The stallion pulled the blade out of the stone and stepped towards the thrones. "Thunderwing?" He called out for his brother. "Are you in here?"

"Get along with you!" Thunderwing answered from above. Firebolt looked up and saw his brother upon one of the lusters. "Come down! We have to talk." He called but his brother didn't move. After a few moments he spread out his wings and flew to the luster, the sword still in his hoof. As he reached his brother he hovered in front of him and said. "I'm sorry, but …"

"Leave me alone!" the blue stallion shouted and jumped off.

Firebolt hadn't expected such a reaction. He looked after his brother but the only thing he saw, was the tip of his tail leaving the hall. He flew down to the door and followed his brother. "Wait!" he called but the stallion was out of hearing.

Meanwhile, outside the castle, Shining Heart woke up and ordered two ponies to bring the mare to the hospital. Afterwards he dashed to the main entrance and crashed into Thunderwing. "Sorry, my Lord." He apologized and helped the alicorn up. "Have you seen Firebolt?" he added asking.

"He's in the throne room." He answered in a hysterical intonation.

"Thanks!" The unicorn said and dashed into the castle.

A few minutes later he arrived at the door and went inside the devastated hall. He looked around but he didn't find any sign of life, so he stepped deeper into the room.

Hearing the steps of a pony Firebolt looked down and saw a white unicorn in a guard's armor. "Hey Shining Heart, I'm up here." He called unsuspecting. "Wait, I'm coming down."

Shining Heart looked up and saw the stallion resting on a luster.

"Watch out!" Firebolt shouted as he let his sword falling.

The sword got stuck five meters in front of the unicorn and a few moments later the alicorn landed beside it. "We have to talk." The unicorn said as he stepped to the stallion but as he arrived him, he didn't stop which forced the alicorn to follow him.

"What's on your mind?" Firebolt asked.

"Do you remember the mare you almost killed at the dungeon?"

"How couldn't I, she's responsible for the massacre out there." He answered with absolutely no emotion in his voice.

"You killed all these ponies, not she!" the unicorn shot furiously back.

"She provoked my anger to come out." The stallion said still calm.

"She's my mare and you killed her almost." He snarled and drew his sword.

Firebolt figured out the plan of his opponent and tried to chase back to his blade but Shining Heart blocked his way. "You really live up to your name." he said as he dodged the unicorns first thrust. "Most of the other ponies wouldn't attack me like this, but you-" Shining Heart cut him off as he swung his sword again at him. "-really don't know me." The golden stallion finished his sentence and his body burned leaving nothing behind than a small ash heap. The unicorn looked confused around but there was no sign of the alicorn.

Firebolt materialized besides his blade and pulled it out of the floor. He flew up to attack the unicorn at his weak spot but before he crashed into the pony, it got out of the attacks way and the stallion smashed into the floor. Through the shock wave the impact created, Shining Heart got catapulted into the next pillar.

Firebolt stood up and grabbed his demonic blade and trotted towards the unicorn. Even the unicorn grabbed his sword and stepped towards his enemy. The golden stallion swung his sword but his opponent raised his own to fend the thrust. The burning blade hit the normal sword in a shower of sparks.

"SSSSSTTOOOOPPPP!" They heard a mare's voice screaming and both stallions turned their head towards the door.

A dark grey, and black maned, unicorn mare stood in front of the door. Firebolt took a closer look at the mare and realized that she was the pony who tried to rack him.

Shining Heart noticed that his enemy was distracted which allowed him to disarm the stallion. He saw the sword flying but it flew into the wrong direction, it flew towards his mare. Firebolt saw what his opponent had done and chased towards the female pony. The unicorn saw the stallion chasing towards his mare and dashed after him. The mare looked frightened at the blade coming closer. Both stallions jumped to stop the sword but Firebolt pushed Shining Heart away and grabbed the hilt. He could stop it shortly before the blade hit the mare but it was too close for the mare to left this incident without any injury; the demonic weapon burned he snout.

"Thanks." She said, her tone nothing but grateful. "It seems that I owe you something."

"Only your complete faith." He answered and melted the floor at Shining Heart's feet.

"What?!" The unicorn stallion shouted and saw the alicorn raising the blade.

Firebolt changed the color of the flaming sword to a bright red as he raised it. He looked a last time into the mare's eyes; to be sure that she really trusted him. As the mare nodded he swung the blade down to her head.

"Noooooo!" The unicorn stallion screamed.

The blade hit the mare's head, got stuck and her body burst into red flames. As the flames perished he pulled the blade out of her head and the mare slumped unconscious down. Afterwards he released the stallion which dashed immediately to his wife and knelt down to cry.

"Don't worry about her." The golden stallion said in a soothing voice.

"DON'T WORRY?!" Shining Heart shot back. "YOU KILLLED HER!"

"Take a closer look at her." He summoned the white unicorn.

The pony jumped up and drew his sword. With a single sword thrust he disarmed the stallion who didn't put up any resistance. The unicorn tried to attack again but before his sword hit Firebolt; the stallion went up in flames, leaving nothing more behind than a small heap of ash.

"Look at her!" he heard him calling and turned around. He looked at her but he saw nothing special about her. As he noticed her stirring, he dashed to her.

"This sword is called Soulchaser." Firebolt told calmly. "It can't only suck your life power, it can also heal or even revive ponies; but there's an invaluable price. For every pony I want to revive, I have to kill five others."

"Why are you telling me that?" The unicorn asked.

"If you take a closer look at her, you'll see that I healed her burns." The stallion answered emerging from behind a column. "I didn't kill her."

Shining Heart looked at his wife and sheathed his sword as he saw that the stallion was right. "I'm sorry." He answered sincerely.

"No problem." Firebolt said stepping towards Soulchaser. "But you have to learn to trust others." He took the hilt but instead of picking it up, he inflamed his leg and the blade was going to lose its shape until it was completely vanished. "She need to rest a few minutes." He added finally and left the hall through the main entrance.


	6. The Truth

**Chapter 6: The Truth**

He galloped out of the castle and ran into a mare in a guard's armor. "I'm sorry." he excused holding his aching head.

"It was my fault, My Lord." The mare answered reverently.

"It wasn't your fault, I ran into you."

"And I blocked your way." She returned vigorously.

"Whatever!" He gave up and trotted towards the center of the yard. "Where are you, brother?" he said to himself and performed a spell to find Thunderwing but before he could finish his search, he spotted an alicorn next to the crater. The golden stallion stepped slowly to the blue pony. "I'm sorry." He said as he was close enough. "I didn't know that you wrote me. Your letters never arrived."

"I'm the one who should apologize." Thunderwing answered and he meant it. "I should've known that Hammerhoof intercepted them."

As Firebolt reached the stallion he looked towards the corpse at the bottom of the crater, the last remaining in the central courtyard.

"Tell me, why you're here." The blue stallion said after a few moments of silence.

"Well – As I already mentioned, I had those horrible nightmares." He began. "I hoped that the nightmares would stop if I talk to you about our parents' death." He paused to look up to his brother. "It was my fault," Firebolt continued saddened. "the fire started in my room. –I killed them."

"Wait –" Thunderwing tried to interrupt him.

"I-I tried to help them but it was too late. Father was already dead and mother –" He paused. "I-I had to watch her perish in the flames." He carried on. "I really attempted to do my best – but I couldn't help them."

Thunderwing hugged his sobbing brother and soothed him. "You haven't killed them." He let the words sink in and as the stallion finally looked up to him, he continued. "You haven't killed them." He repeated in a soothing and caring voice. "The castle was set on fire – by him." The stallion pointed at the corpse in the crater.

"B-But why?" Firebolt asked.

"He was ambitious for power. His whole life he wanted to be king." He explained. "Hammerhoof wanted to kill us all but he was too much a coward, to kill us with his own hooves. Maybe that's why I'm still alive."

"As a colt I admired him; his whole life he was somehow special, even his death was special." The golden stallion smirked.

"Yep." Thunderwing answered smiling. "He was probably the first flying earth pony."

"You're right!" Firebolt laughed forgetting about his sorrow. After a few moments he spoke again. "This place would be great for a monument."

"For him?!" His opponent asked upset.

"No – not for him." He replied. "For our parents."

"Indeed, it would be a great place. But what about him." The blue pony said.

"I would let him rot but it's your decision, you're the king."


	7. The Coronation

**Chapter 7: Coronation**

A few days after Firebolt had rescued his brother and the throne room was rebuilt, the high-society and most of Nordheim's guards were assembled in front of the two thrones. Thunderwing stood between the thrones and looked towards his subjects.

The ponies instantly fell silent as Firebolt ascended the podest with the crown, on a red velvet cushion, upon his back. As the ponies realized who he was, the murmur started.

"Quiet, Please!" He raised his voice as he reached his brother. "The rumors are true. – I am alive. – But today we are here –" he paused. "to crown Thunderwing!"

Slowly he stepped to his brother's side and his horn began to glow in a shiny red. The crown hovered above the blue stallion's head and Firebolt began to speak. "Will you solemnly promise and swear to govern the ponies of Nordheim?"

"I solemnly promise so to do." Thunderwing answered concentrated.

"Will you to your power cause law and justice, in mercy, to be executed in all your judgments?"

"I will."

"Will you maintain and preserve inviolable the government thereof, as by law established in Nordheim? And will you preserve unto the guards and the ponies there committed to their charge, all such rights and privileges, as by law do or shall appertain to them or any of them?"

"All this I promise to do. The things which I have here before promised, I will perform and keep."

As he finished the crown sunk down on his head.

"Long live the king!" Firebolt called and the ponies answered loudly. "Long live the king!"

Thunderwing called Shining Heart to come up to him. The sergeant seemed confused but stepped towards his new king.

"Shining Heart" The blue stallion began as the pony arrived at him. "you've served me with great honor during Hammerhoof's terror regime." He paused to emphasize the words' importance. "Since he is dead the guards need a new Captain. – I hereby intrust you with this office."

"I, Shining Heart, vow to be obedient and serve you as well as I can."

Both stallions turned towards the other ponies, Thunderwing grabbed his new Captain's hoof and raised it.

"Bolt commended you highly." He whispered.

**The End**


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